1764-1914; bulk: 1850-1914

Guide to the Collection

Funding for the digitization of this collection and the creation of preservation microfilm was provided by the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act grant as administered by the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

Abstract

This collection consists of clippings and correspondence related
primarily to Norwood P. Hallowell's career as an army officer and as lieutenant-colonel of the
55th Mass. Regiment, the second Black regiment in the state, during the Civil War.

Biographical Sketch

Norwood Penrose Hallowell (1839-1914) was born on 13 Apr. 1839 in Philadelphia, Penn., the son
of Morris L. and Hannah (Penrose) Hallowell. He graduated from Harvard College in 1861. On 10
June 1861, he was commissioned first lieutenant of the 20th Mass. Regiment and later promoted to
captain. He fought in many battles, including Ball's Bluff, Yorktown, Glendale, Malvern Hill,
Chantilly, and Antietam, where he was wounded. On 17 Apr. 1863, he was appointed
lieutenant-colonel of the 54th Mass. Regiment and later colonel of the 55th Mass. Regiment, the
second Black regiment raised in the state. The regiment was stationed at New Bern, N.C. and took
part in the attack on Fort Wagner, S.C. Hallowell's brothers, Edward N. and Richard P.
Hallowell, were also involved in the recruitment of Black soldiers for the 54th and 55th
Regiments. The family was active in the anti-slavery movement and worked to get equal pay for
Black soldiers and other equal treatment for Blacks.

In 1863, Norwood P. Hallowell was discharged from military service and entered the wool
business in New York and Boston. He married Sarah Wharton Haydock on 27 Jan. 1868. The couple
settled in Medford, Mass. and had six children: Anna Norwood Hallowell; Robert Haydock
Hallowell; Norwood Penrose Hallowell, Jr.; John White Hallowell; Esther Fisher Hallowell; and
Susan Morris Hallowell.

Collection Description

This collection consists of clippings and correspondence related mostly to Norwood P.
Hallowell's career as an army officer and as lieutenant-colonel of the 55th Mass. Regiment. The
papers, primarily in scrapbooks, also contain Hallowell's essays as a student at Harvard, papers
related to his lifelong affiliation and loyalty to the college, and items concerning his career
as a businessman in Boston.

Arrangement

The Norwood Penrose Hallowell papers consist primarily of five scrapbooks. Three of the
scrapbooks (Vols. 1, 2, and 4) have been disbound and rehoused in boxes and folders, and two of
the scrapbooks (Vols. 3 and 5) are still bound. Volume 3 is an oversize scrapbook located in
Oversize Box 1. Items in some, but not all, of the scrapbooks are arranged in rough
chronological order, and researchers will find overlap of dates and subjects across the five
volumes. Some loose clippings were photocopied for preservation.

Oversize papers in this collection have been removed to an oversize box but are digitized at their original location. Some loose items from Scrapbook Vol. 5 have been removed to document boxes, but are also digitized at their original location.

Scrapbook vol. 1, 1850-1904 (disbound)digital content

Included are clippings, photographs, correspondence, and ephemera. NOTE: Some numbered pages in this scrapbook are blank and have not been scanned. All pages with content are included in the digital presentation.

This scrapbook contains clippings primarily related to the 54th and 55th Mass. Regiments, as
well as printed material, notices, broadsides, circular letters, and correspondence of John A.
Andrew and Edward N. Hallowell. Because many of the papers were loose, individual items have
been numbered rather than pages.

Scrapbook vol. 3, 1764-1914; bulk:
1862-1914digital content

This scrapbook contains clippings, photographs, and papers related to the education of
Hallowell family members; material on Harvard College, especially Harvard football; and
obituaries of members of the 54th and 55th Mass. Regiments. Correspondents include Morris L.
Hallowell, George F. Hoar, Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Cabot Lodge, and William H. Taft.

Preferred Citation

Access Terms

This collection is indexed under the following headings in ABIGAIL, the online catalog of the
Massachusetts Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related persons,
organizations, or subjects should search the catalog using these headings.

Materials Removed from the Collection

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